Month: November 2006

Ice bath for runners

The runners in the audience will understand what an ice bath is. Helps to cool the muscles after a race. Keeps the DOS down (delayed onset soreness). I usually make pool cleaning time right after my runs. This allows me to get the pool clean and cool the legs off. Not as cold as an ice bath, but much cooler than nothing. And it feels good too.

Today I had an ice bath, but not by choice and not after a run. Yesterday we discovered that we were out of LP gas. This was in the morning as we were getting ready to head out for a pretty full day’s worth of activities. Since someone had to be home to let the gas guys in and up to the roof of the house, we had to put off calling them. We decided that we could probably get them to come out in the afternoon.

Plans changed and the afternoon/evening became totally free to have the gas guys come out. But this also meant that we did not rush right back home after the morning events. By the time we got home and I called the gas company, they had stopped their delivery for the day. They won’t be able to come until Monday.

Tonight I got to a point where I could not stand my oder and needed a shower. So it was off to the ice bath for me. We have our water holding tank on top of the house. This is usually nice and heated by the sun. Today was overcast and only got to 81 degrees. Last night’s temp was 57 for a low. So the water was not overly warm.

I visualized myself having just finished a nice long run and pretended that the water felt great on my hot body. Of course the inside the house temperature was 70 degrees, so it was hard to convince me that I was overly hot.

They don’t make heaters in these houses and with the windows closed, you still feel a pretty good breeze on a cold night.

McDonald’s PlayPlace

Have you been up in a McD’s plastic gym recently? Well, since I am over the age of 25, they did not have these when I was a kid. Therefore, I have never been in one…until today.

Good thing I have lost 80 lbs. recently. If you did not know, these were not made for people 6 feet tall. You probably could have guessed that though. Furthermore, if you are claustrophobic and close to 6 feet tall, this could be a bad experience for you.

Our 2 and a half year old daughter had overshot the slide that she wanted to go to and went a bit higher. Then she got up to a circular spaceship area. She never looked stressed up there except when we sent our son to go get her. We tried to coax her down with an ice cream cone. It was almost completely melted before I swallowed my pride and scurried up the little twisty tube to get her. She was just sitting up there smiling and having a good time.

She came right to me and down the steps to the slide. Then it was my turn down the slide. Whew, that was a tight fit. Kinda icky too. Nylon/plastic slide and I did not just slip down. It was either covered in grime or they have made it so that kids intentionally cannot go faster than a sloth.

“I hate the cold!”

Yesterday one of the girls at the Deaf school was bemoaning the cold. She is probably about 18 years old. But she is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. She probably has not been in school more than a couple of years and has grown up in one of the villages outside of town. This is to say that this girl would fit in well with the hillbillies living around Mayberry.

She told me how cold it was yesterday and how much she hates the cold. It did get a bit chilly. The high was only 93. I wonder what she thought of the weather today. It was an even cooler high of 89. She must have been freezing.